Global Preferential Trade Agreement Database (GPTAD)

The World Bank International Trade Department is pleased to announce the launch of the Global Preferential Trade Agreement Database (GPTAD).

The GPTAD provides information on preferential trade agreements (PTAs) around the world, including agreements that have not been notified to the World Trade Organization (WTO). It is designed to help trade policy makers, scholars, and business operators better understand and navigate the world of PTAs.

The database was developed jointly by the World Bank and the Center for International Business, Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College.  It was supported by the Multidonor Trust Fund for Trade and Development (MDTF-TD) financed by contributions from the governments of Finland, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom.  Currently the GPTAD is integrated with the World Integrated Trade Solution (WITS) database and is part of the World Bank’s Open Data initiative. 

The Database

The GPTAD contains the original text of PTAs that have been notified to the WTO as well as agreements that have not yet been notified. The database is updated on a regular basis and currently comprises more than 330 PTAs. Agreements in the database have been indexed using a classification consistent with the WTO criteria. The GPTAD is a unique online tool that allows users to search PTAs around the world by provisions or keywords and to compare provisions across multiple agreements.

The Library

The library provides the text of all agreements in their original language and archives them by key criteria. It enables users to sort PTAs by membership, date of signature, in-force status, and other key criteria. It also allows users to download and print PDF files of entire agreements.

Updating and Expanding the Global Preferential Trade Agreements Database

The GPTAD is designed to be a valuable resource on PTAs for trade policy makers, scholars, and business operators around the world. To that end, the World Bank International Trade Department welcomes your input. If you are aware of bilateral or regional PTAs that are not included in the library or database, please contact us. The GPTAD is work in progress and we actively welcome and solicit your views and suggestions on how the site might be further improved and made more useful.

For more information, please contact us at x37824 or send an e-mail to WITS administrator at wits@worldbank.org.